Free Audio Books!

Free Audio Books!

June is Audio Book month and you can find lots of free audio books on the internet if you know where to look.

My favorite place to get free audiobooks is Audio Book Sync.
They give away two free audiobooks a week all summer.  All you need to do is download the Overdrive app on your phone or tablet and download the audiobook.

Here is the website:  http://www.audiobooksync.com/

This is the list of free book titles.  Two per week until Aug 13th.

June 11 – June 17: The Living by Matt de la Pena, narrated by Henry Leyva (Brilliance Audio ) and The Perfect Storm: A True Story Of Men Against The Sea by Sebastian Junger, narrated by Richard Davidson (Recorded Books, Inc.)

June 18 – June 24: Rose Under Fire by Elizabeth Wein, narrated by Sasha Pick (Bolinda Publishing) and Anne Frank Remembered by Miep Gies & Alison Leslie Gold, narrated by Barbara Rosenblat (Oasis Audio)

June 25 – July 1: Monster by Walter Dean Myers, narrated by a Full Cast; Afterword read by the author (Listening Library) and Lord of The Flies written and narrated by William Golding (Listening Library)

July 2 – July 8: Echoes Of An Angel by Aquanetta Gordon with Chris Macias, narrated by Robin Miles (christianaudio) and Budda Boy by Kathe Koja, narrated by Spencer Murphy & The Full Cast Family (Full Cast Audio)

July 9 – July 15: The Explorers Club by Nell Benjamin, performed by Jack Cutmore-Scott, Carson Elrod, David Furr, John Getz, Martin Jarvis, David Krumholtz, Lorenzo Pisoni, Jennifer Westfeldt & Matthew Wolf (L.A. Theatre Works) and Around The World In Eighty Days by Jules Verne, narrated by Michael Prichard (Tantor Audio)

July 16 – July 22: Crows & Cards by Joseph Helgerson, narrated by MacLeod Andrews (Brilliance Audio) and THE Adventures Of Huckelberry Finn by Mark Twain, narrated by Robin Field (Mission
Audio)

July 23 – July 29: March by Geraldine Brooks, narrated by Richard Easton (Penguin Audio) and Little Women by Louisa May Alcott, narrated by Kate Reading (Listening Library)

July 30 – August 5: Courage Has No Color: The True Story Of The Triple Nickles by Tanya Lee Stone, narrated by J.D. Jackson (Brilliance Audio) and John Ball's In The Heat Of The Night Adapted by Matt Pelfrey, performed by  Ryan Vincent Anderson, Michael Hammond, Kalen Harriman, Travis Johns, James Morrison, Darren Richardson & Tom Virtue (L.A. Theatre Works)

August 6 – August 13: Under A War-Torn Sky by L.M. Elliott, narrated by Elizabeth Wiley (Tantor Audio) and The Old Brown Suitcase by Lillian Boraks-Nemetz narrated by Sofia Newman (Post Hypnotic Press)



Another place to look for Free Audiobooks is AudioBooks.com.  They are giving one free audio book per day in the month of June.

Here is the website:  http://www.audiobooks.com/audiobookmonth

Click on Free Book of the Day.  Download and listen.  Enjoy!

Have you listened to any great Audio Books Lately?  Let me know.

My Favorite Literary Podcasts.

My Favorite Bookish Podcasts.

The Moth Podcast

The Moth Story podcast is one of my favorites. True stories told by real people.  These stories have made me laugh, cry, cringe and smile with relief.  I love these stories.  Its like a story slam in every podcast and you are the winner because you get to hear stories from all walks of life.  Listen once and you'll be hooked.

Go to www.themoth.org or download through Itunes or Stitcher.

Books on the Nightstand:

Books on the Nightstand is a weekly 30 minute podcast about books and the love of reading.  Reliable segments that I love and look forward to include Audio book of the week and Two books we can't wait for you to read.  Michael and Ann are knowledgeable and full of personality plus they have a blog with show notes and a Goodreads group as well.

Go to http://booksonthenightstand.com/

Literary Disco

I think Literary Disco is my favorite podcast ever.  It is bi-weekly and over an hour long.  It is three 30-40 something writers/readers/friends who come together to talk about books.  They choose one book to read and discuss, there is always a great discussion, usually some swearing and there is always laughing involved.  Most of the time, I have never heard of the book but that is OK, because their discussion does not alienate their listeners. They also have fun segments and my favorite is bookshelf roulette.  I never miss this podcast.

Go to:  http://www.literarydisco.com/

BookRiot

Book Riot is where you need to go to get your Book News about the wonderful world of books andreading.  Plus they have a kick ass website and cool ideas and bookish clubs, like Riot Reads and Book Riot Quarterly box and I subscribe to both because I'm a total book nerd.  Book Riot is a weekly podcast about an hour long, full of interesting discussion on a variety of book topics. Jeff and Rebecca are great hosts and editors of BookRiot.  This podcast has spun new literary podcasts like Dear Book Nerd, Reading Lives and Oh' Comics.

Go to:  http://bookriot.com/

What are you favorite Literary Podcasts?

Leave a comment because I want to know.

Outlander Fans, Get Ready!

Outlander Fans, Get Ready!

Outlander by Diana Gabaldon
Audio Book
33 hours and 8 minutes
Narrated by Davina Porter

Outlander is set to be a new series on Starz and the first episode airs on Saturday!!

Are you as excited as I am for this series?  I recently listened to Outlander on audio during my long commute home and it was a fun book to listen to.  Porter has an excellent Scottish accent and she makes me feel as if I'm sitting in Scotland at Castle Leoch.  Loved this listen so much I bought the next two books in the series, there are 8 to be exact, and then I discovered it was being made into a TV series.  Yes!

If you have never heard of the Outlander series, I would describe it in this way;  It is similar to Game of Thrones but Game of Thrones for women.  OK guys will like it too but women will adore it.  It is a time traveling, man mesmerizing, female empowering, kick ass story.  It is about a WWII nurse named Claire Randall who inadvertently time travels back in Scotland during the time of the Clan wars against the British Crown in the year of our Lord 1743.  She lands in the hands of Black Jack Randall and is rescued by Clan McKenzie and is trying to survive in this cruel world.

This book series and TV show is multi-genred and includes within its many talents, romance, history, science fiction, fantasy and adventure and so much more.  It's epic! Hang on for one wild ride.

My suggestion is to read the books and/or watch the series!!
Here is the link to watch the first episode on Starz for free
http://www.starz.com/originals/outlander

Here is the trailer:



Let me know if you are planning to watch the series.  I am super excited about it.

High Summer Read-A-Thon Wrap-Up.

High Summer Read-A-Thon Wrap-Up.

Sadness:  The Read-a-Thon is over.  But I'm happy to say I accomplished most of my goals.  Friday was my worst day for reading because my car broke down in the middle of a busy intersection and I was stuck sitting on the side of the road with my dog and a broken foot.  Sad to say, I am still without my car, which I call The Bullet.  The bullet is at the dealership waiting to be fixed and I may not have it all week!  I hate being confined.

So here are my goals and what I accomplished.


Goal #1.  Read a book a day.  This means I will read one book a day for the entire readathon or read seven total books finished.

I did this.  I read and/or finished 7 books during the readathon.  Yes.  Below is the list of books I finished.

Book #1 War Brothers. The Graphic Novel by Sharon E. McKay and artwork by Daniel Lafrance
Book #2 The Bookshop by Penelope Fitzgerald
Book #3 The Lady and the Unicorn by Tracy Chevalier

See my post about these books with mini-reviews here:  Readathon update post

Book #4 Flight by Sherman Alexie (audio book)
Book #5 The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis
Book #6 Vacationland by Sarah Stonich
Book #7 Eight Dolphins of Katrina by Janet Wyman Coleman.  Illustrations by Yan Nascimbene

Goal #2.  I have 2 books that I am in the middle of and want to finish this week.  Vacationland by Sarah Stonich and The Lady and the Unicorn by Tracy Chevalier.  Both books are super good and I can't wait to find out what happens.

Finished both of these.  See above for books finished and below for mini-reviews.

Goal #3.  Writing.  I know this is a readathon and not a writeathon but I want to write at least an hour every day this week and I think I will use this readathon as a way to do that.  Writing includes blogging for me but I also want to work on my short stories and young adult novel.  So much writing to do and so little time.

I did not really accomplish this goal.  I spent most of my free time reading.  It is so much easier to read than to write and yep, I'm a procrastinator.

Book #4 Flight by Sherman Alexie (audio book)

Listened to this on audio. This about a homeless, parentless Native American teen who has bounced from foster home to foster home and is on the wrong side of the law. As he commits a crime, he is taken on a flight into other bodies in other times and places. Sort of time travel. He is being put into situations and people relevant to his life situation. It has a hopeful ending but boy, was it hard to listen to.

Book #5 The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis

Love this book. The book and the movie are pretty similar and if you've never read The Chronicles of Narnia, hop to it because you are missing out.  I love to be transported to Narnia, I only wish it was real so I could travel there and be queen like Lucy and Susan.

Book #6 Vacationland by Sarah Stonich

This book is stunning and Stonich is a master storyteller.  Her words and sentences are so descriptive and picturesque and evoke time and place so well. Through out the whole book, I kept envisioning myself at Vacationland.   I just didn't want it to end.  So good.

Book #7  Eight Dolphins of Katrina by Janet Wyman Coleman.  Illustrations by Yan Nascimbene

This children's book tells the fate of 8 dolphins housed in the Oceanarium in Mississippi on the coast during Hurricane Katrina in 2005. There is also a section towards the end of the book, called Man's best friend which tells of the evolution of dolphins as well as how they are credited with saving lives. Eight Dolphins of Katrina ends with a scrapbook full of pictures with a timeline of events. I had no idea that 8 dolphins were swept into the gulf by a tidal wave during the hurricane and needed rescuing until I read this book. I think children would really be interested in this book

Ahhh, I love reading and I love readathons.  Don't you?

Book A Day, Books 8-10 with Mini Reviews

Book A Day, Books 8-10 with Mini Reviews

This week I fell behind my on #Book A Day summer goal because I went to Maryland for National History Day and was super busy.  Up early and into bed late, left little time for reading.   My student competed in the senior division, paper category and on Thursday, June 19th, they announced that she had won first place!!  First place in the Nation!!  OMG, it was so emotional and wonderful to see her achieve that level of success.  Next week we will be interviewed on two local radio programs in Minneapolis.

Day #9, Book 8
Satchel Paige. Striking Out Jim Crow by James Sturm
Graphic Novel

This is an awesome graphic novel about the baseball legend Satchel Paige.  Satchel Paige was an amazing baseball pitcher. His career spanned 6 decades. He was the most famous African American baseball player alongside Jackie Robinson. This graphic novel highlights the barriers Paige faced and the amazing ability and character he displayed when playing ball. Super good and sure to be enjoyed by anyone interested in sports history.

Day #10, Book 9
Sleep Donation by Karen Russell
Novella

This little book is packed full of interesting science fiction.  Can you imagine what the world would be like if insomnia were an epidemic?  Sleep deprivation and insomnia is killing people and many need a sleep transfusion. There is a sleep bank set up and people donate their sleep to save lives. I can't stop thinking about this book.  What if?

Day #11, Book 10
Ready Player One by Ernest Cline
Audio Book
Narrated by Wil Wheaton
15 hours and 46 minutes


Listened to the audiobook of Ready Player One. Wil Wheaton is a fabulous narrator. Seriously listen to this on audio. Ready Player One is an ode to the decade of the 1980's with a ton of pop culture references. It was an awesome trip down memory lane and a nod to video game culture.  The year is 2044 and there is an egg worth millions of dollars hidden inside the Oasis, a massive online video world.  Wade, a high school student may have found the door to the first gate and from there it is a race to the finish.  Really, really good on audio.

Two Great Audiobooks

Two Great Audiobooks.

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
Narrated by Dan Stevens
Length: 8 Hours and 35 minutes.

I started Frankenstein twice.  The first time, I just couldn't get into it, I couldn't follow it and so I quit.  Which I then regretted and so I tried again and I'm so glad I did.  Once the slow beginning was over and I got over my confusion, the story picked up.  Frankenstein was creepy and awesome and addressed all kinds of questions about what it means to be human.  The narrator was great, expressive and after I got used to him, easy to follow.  I cannot believe that Mary Shelley wrote this when she was just 17.  That is incredible!

Rotters by Daniel Kraus
Narrated By Kirby Heyborne
Length: 16 hrs and 23 mins

Rotters was paired with Frankenstein by AudioBook Sync when they gave away both audiobooks last summer for a week for free.  Score!  This was the first I had heard of Rotters and it was a perfect pairing.

If Frankenstein was creepy and awesome, Rotters was more creepy and freaky and also awesome.  Wow, what a great story about a father and son grave robbing team and their assortment of colleagues.  I was blown away by the creative aspects of the story and just the right amount of ick inserted where needed.  The narrator was superb and added to the creepiness of the story. Highly recommend!

What audiobooks are you listening too?

BIg Girl Panties Audio Book Review + Giveaway

Big Girl Panties by Stephanie Evanovich
Audio Book Review
Narrated By Katie Schorr
Length: 9 hours and 51 minutes

Big Girl Panties is the first book I have read or listened to by Stephanie Evanovich.  I was lucky to win a copy from the publisher and since I have been an audiobook junkie lately, I gave it a try.  It is a romance and I'm not really big on romances but I thought it was OK.  It was light and funny and quirky and totally weird, especially when female characters were getting spankings.  My feminist self really wanted to gag at certain parts but I persevered.

Holly the main character is a bit overweight and starts working out with a hot trainer she met on an airplane.  Of course he is owns the training business and is cute and wonderful and wealthy.  So cliche!  I really liked the workout parts of the book and the main character.  Holly was spicy and spunky and adorable.  I totally laughed out loud several times.

The narration by Katie Shorr was great!  She is easy to follow, changes her voice with each character and even throws in some southern drawl.  It is the perfect audio book for light summer listening.

I am willing to give away my audio CD book to a Booksnob follower.  It has been gently used and listened to only once.

Please fill out the form:
Good Luck

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Free Audio Books from SYNC

Free Audio Books from Sync.

Sync YA literature into your earphones.

Hey Everyone,

It is time for Free Audio books from  http://www.audiobooksync.com/

Every week Audio Book Sync gives away two free audio books during the summer.  One Young Adult book paired with One Classic book.
See the schedule listed below and don't miss out.
I love this!  This is my second year participating.  Last year I picked up some great audio and have been listening all school year,  and it has been awesome.

The first two books are available for download now.
Here is the schedule:


SUMMER 2014 SYNC TITLE LINEUP

May 15 – May 21
WARP: THE RELUCTANT ASSASSIN by Eoin Colfer, Narrated by Maxwell Caulfield (Listening Library)
THE TIME MACHINE by H.G. Wells, Narrated by Derek Jacobi (Listening Library)

May 22 – May 28
CRUEL BEAUTY by Rosamund Hodge, Narrated by Elizabeth Knowelden (Harper Audio)
OEDIPUS THE KING by Sophocles, Performed by Michael Sheen and a full cast (Naxos AudioBooks)

May 29 – June 4
CONFESSIONS OF A MURDER SUSPECT by James Patterson and Maxine Paetro, Narrated by Emma Galvin (Hachette Audio)
THE MURDER AT THE VICARAGE by Agatha Christie, Narrated by Richard E. Grant (Harper Audio)

June 5 – June 11
ALL OUR YESTERDAYS by Cristin Terrill, Narrated by Meredith Mitchell (Tantor Audio)
JULIUS CAESAR by William Shakespeare, Performed by Richard Dreyfuss, JoBeth Williams, Stacy Keach, Kelsey Grammer, and a full cast (L.A. Theatre Works)

June 12 – June 18
CODE NAME VERITY by Elizabeth Wein, Narrated by Morven Christie and Lucy Gaskell (Bolinda Audio)
THE HIDING PLACE by Corrie Ten Boom, John Sherrill, Elizabeth Sherrill, Narrated by Bernadette Dunne (christianaudio)

June 19 – June 25
I’D TELL YOU I LOVE YOU, BUT THEN I’D HAVE TO KILL YOU by Ally Carter, Narrated by Renée Raudman (Brilliance Audio)
ANNE OF GREEN GABLES by L.M. Montgomery, Narrated by Colleen Winton (Post Hypnotic Press)

June 26 – July 2
FORGIVE ME, LEONARD PEACOCK by Matthew Quick, Narrated by Noah Galvin (Hachette Audio)
OCTOBER MOURNING: A Song for Matthew Shepard by Lesléa Newman, Narrated by Emily Beresford, Luke Daniels, Tom Parks, Nick Podehl, Kate Rudd, Christina Traister (Brilliance Audio)

July 3 – July 9
TORN FROM TROY by Patrick Bowman, Narrated by Gerard Doyle (Post Hypnotic Press)
PETER AND THE STARCATCHERS by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson, Narrated by Jim Dale (Brilliance Audio)

July 10 – July 16
CLAUDETTE COLVIN: Twice Toward Justice by Philip Hoose, Narrated by Channie Waites (Brilliance Audio)
WHILE THE WORLD WATCHED by Carolyn Maull McKinstry with Denise George, Narrated by Felicia Bullock (Oasis Audio)

July 17 – July 23
THE CASE OF THE CRYPTIC CRINOLINE by Nancy Springer, Narrated by Katherine Kellgren (Recorded Books)
THE ADVENTURES OF SHERLOCK HOLMES II by Arthur Conan Doyle, Narrated by David Timson (Naxos AudioBooks)

July 24 – July 30
HEADSTRONG by Patrick Link, Performed by Deidrie Henry, Ernie Hudson, Ntare Guma Mbaho Mwine and Scott Wolf (L.A. Theatre Works)
THE STRANGE CASE OF DR. JEKYLL AND MR. HYDE by Robert Louis Stevenson, Narrated by Scott Brick (Tantor Audio)

July 31 – August 6
DIVIDED WE FALL by Trent Reedy, Narrated by Andrew Eiden (Scholastic Audio)
THE RED BADGE OF COURAGE by Stephen Crane, Narrated by Frank Muller (Recorded Books)

August 7 – August 13
LIVING A LIFE THAT MATTERS by Ben Lesser, Narrated by Jonathan Silverman and Ben Lesser (Remembrance Publishing)
THE SHAWL by Cynthia Ozick, Narrated by Yelena Shmulenson (HighBridge Audio)
Tool kit now available!

ENJOY

Please share, so others can enjoy too.

The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch

The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch
Audio Book Review
Narrated by Erik Singer & Randy Pausch
4 hrs and 39 mins

Randy Pausch was a computer science professor at Carnegie Mellon when he was diagnosed with terminal pancreatic cancer.  He was married with 3 children and was looking forward to a long life of watching his children grow up.  As he neared the end of his fight with cancer, Randy decided to give his "last lecture" at Carnegie Mellon on "Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams".

The Last Lecture series is a right of passage for professors who imagine the end of their life and the lessons they want to impart to a large audience, except for Randy didn't need to imagine coming to the end of his life.  He was already there.

These are Randy's childhood dreams:
*Being in zero gravity
*Playing in the NFL
*Authoring an article in the World Book Encyclopedia
*Being Captain Kirk
*Winning stuffed animals
*Being a Disney Imagineer

The Last Lecture is not about dying although it does figure into the book.  The Last Lecture is about truly living and following your dreams.  Randy's lecture is heart-warming and inspirational.  As a teacher, I learned some things to try in my classroom.  Randy really had me thinking a lot about my life and how to live it to the fullest degree and actually achieve my own childhood dreams.

This was a fabulous audio book.  I loved it.  The Last Lecture is meant to be auditory and listened to as a speech (or a lecture). The narrator was great and I felt like I was sitting in the audience at Carnegie Mellon.  You will laugh and you will cry and you will walk away from this book a better person for having listened to it.  I think I may need to listen to this every year.

The only difference I can see between the book and the audio version is that the book contains pictures of Randy with his family.

Randy Pausch died on July 25th, 2008.

Lying Awake by Mark Salzman

Lying Awake by Mark Salzman
Audio Book Review
Narrated by Linda Stephens
4 hours and 22 minutes

Sister John of the Cross has been having visions from God.  She is a spiritual leader and writer in her cloister community in Los Angeles and has been living in this monastery for a long time.  Along with her visions she is starting to have horrible, paralyzingly painful headaches.  Mother Emmanuel encourages her to seek medical treatment after she passes out during prayer.  The doctor finds something in her brain causing her headaches and wants to do surgery.  Sister John isn't sure what to do and is worried that she will lose her spiritual gifts.

I listened to this as an audio even though I own a copy of the book.  I am disappointed I didn't read the book because the audio was hard to follow and kept jumping back and forth throughout time.  Novels told in multiple time periods aren't good choices for audio books for me.  The storyline is intriguing and interesting but I was lost in a couple of places.  The narrator was OK .  When paging through the actual hardcover copy, I noticed chapter titles and illustrations that would enhance the reading experience.

Lying Awake really gives you an insight into the monastic life of a nun.
My verdict; read it.  Don't listen to it.

Beautiful Ruins by Jess Walter

Beautiful Ruins by Jess Walter
Audio Book Review

Narrated by Edoardo Ballerini

12 hrs and 53 mins
Short Review

Italy, 1962. Richard Burton and Liz Taylor are making the film, Cleopatra.  A young American actress in the film learns she is dying and escapes to Porto Vergogna, a small seaside village to rest.  There Dee meets the innkeeper, Pasquale and they form an immediate and deep connection.

Fast forward 50 years and Pasquale arrives at the director's film studio in California with the desire to find Dee.  The storyline alternates, Italy 1962, with modern day Hollywood studios.
Each character is well developed and is literally a Beautiful Ruin.  The book is aptly named.

The narrater of Beautiful Ruins is amazing.  His perfect diction and Italian accent had me at hello.  Hello! As an audio book, this ranks as one of my favorites of the year.  It was entertaining, full of popular culture with a touch of mystery and several stories, within the main story.  Yet, it is easy to follow.  The ending is so sweet that it makes you believe in love and fate and it will make you exhale a long sigh.

Ahhhhh.

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Once by Morris Gleitzman

Once by Morris Gleitzman
Audio Book Review
Narrated by Morris Gleitzman
3 hours and 8 minutes

Felix is a young orphan living in a Polish hilltop orphanage.  His Jewish parents dropped him off for safe keeping and said they'd return for him. and when Nazi soldiers show up at the orphanage and burn the nuns books, Felix panics and decide to find his parents and warn them to save the books.  The search for Felix's parents leads him on a perilous journey to the Warsaw ghetto.

Narrated by the author, each chapter break has a musical interlude.  The story starts out a little slow as Felix is very naive and innocent.  His parents owned a bookstore so Felix's mind is filled with stories that he uses to explain things he doesn't understand.  Once picks up as Felix starts to figure out what is really happening around him during the war with Germany.  Felix in his naiveté reminds me of the Boy in the Striped Pajamas.
There are 3 more books in the series.

Joyland by Stephen King

Joyland by Stephen King
Audiobook Review
Narrated by Michael Kelly
7 Hours and 33 Minutes
Crime Noir.

Joyland is a amusement park in North Carolina near the ocean.  Devon Jones is a college student in need of a summer job and he gets one working at Joyland.  The year is 1973 and Devon arrives with a broken heart, in need of a distraction.  He learns of the rules of the park from the true carnys.  He makes new friends, wears the fur and learns of the legend the ghost who still haunts the funhouse.  This promises to be one interesting summer.

When the summer ends, Devon decides to stay in North Carolina and work at Joyland instead of returning to college.   He decides to launch his own investigation, along with a friend, to try and figure out who killed the woman in the funhouse of fear.  He makes a visit to the fortune teller who tells him his "future", a future that includes saving lives.  What ensues is an absolutely wonderful story, page-turning story.

The narrator of Joyland is awesome and I absolutely loved his voice and his telling of the story.  Joyland is part mystery, part ghost story, part love story and one damn good audio book.  The characters are colorful, and unique and the setting is perfect.  Stephen King has a reputation for scary and this book was not scary (which is good, I hate scary).  There is a definite softer side to this story that propelled me to keep listening.  Listening to the audio of Joyland was a great experience.  I didn't want to get out of my car.

King is a master storyteller.  I have now read two books by King.  The Green Mile (amazing) and Joyland (really good).  Hmmm, which King book should I read/listen to next??

Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell

Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell
Audiobook Review

In September, the Anoka-Hennepin school district, in Minnesota, banned author Rainbow Rowell from coming to speak about her book Eleanor & Park, during Banned Books Week.  The controversy caused a wave of opinions and the outrage of book lovers everywhere.  It also put Eleanor & Park on the radar of many readers, including me, as I went out and bought the audio book immediately.  Don't they know that if you ban a book, people everywhere want to read it?  I guess not.

Eleanor: New girl in town.  Insecure, a bit overweight, and has a horrible home life.  The first day, she climbs onto the bus and no one will let her sit down.

Park:  Reluctantly moves over on the bus.  Hopes no one notices.  Listens to his headphones and reads comic books.

Eleanor:  I wonder if he's Asian.  He is always reading these comic books, and he doesn't notice that I am reading them too. There are no books in my house.  I have lots of younger siblings and we all sleep in one room.  5 of us in one room.

Park:  Why does she wear those horrible clothes?  Maybe I should try and talk to her.  She has red, curly hair.  It looks soft.  Is she reading my book?  I think she is. Hmmm.

Little by Little, Eleanor and Park become friends and fall in love on the school bus in 1986.  What evolves is a sweet tragic love story, told in the alternating voices of Eleanor and Park.  This book brought me back to my high school days and my own first love experienced in the 80's.  These two characters have stolen my heart.  Eleanor faces bullying and an abusive step-father and through it all, she knows she can count on Park.  Park is in love and wants it to be forever, but Eleanor knows it will end someday as all first love stories do.

The audiobook has two narrators, one male and one female and they play the parts of Eleanor and Park extremely well.  I Loved it!  I would highly recommend this audiobook, it was definitely a great listening experience.  It kept my attention and brought the characters to life.  It will make you laugh and cry and cringe over the horrible things that Eleanor had to deal with.  The story is not sticky sweet but a real life type of love story.  Each character brings their own problems to the relationship and yet this relationship is Eleanor's only chance to escape the demons in her life.  Park exists to be Eleanor's serene, calm island, her safety net, in the middle of life's thunderstorm.

I recently heard Rainbow Rowell speak about her book and she stated that Eleanor and Park takes place in her neighborhood, on her school bus and at her high school.  It took her a year to write Eleanor & Park.

A note to the parents who banned Rainbow Rowell from visiting their school district:  I want to say thank you because it was you who caused me to notice and read Eleanor & Park and you, who made me want to see Rainbow speak in St. Paul and it was you, who inspired me to invite her to my high school to speak and it is you, I thank, as I continue to recommend this book to every teenager I know and teach.

Bless Me, Ultima by Rudolfo Anaya

Bless Me, Ultima by Rudolfo Anaya
An Audiobook Review

Bless Me, Ultima is the coming of age story of Antonio, and  encompasses the two years of his life when Ultima lives with his family.  Tony is the youngest child in his large New Mexican family.   His mother wants him to grow up and be a priest in the Catholic church and his father wants him to grow up to be a vaquero like his ancestors and belong to the land of his people.

Ultima is getting older and is coming to live with Antonio's family.  She is a healer, a wise woman also called a curandera and she was the midwife present when Antonio was born.  She teaches Tony about the herbs and old ways of his people.  Some people say she is a witch but Ultima seeks to do good things with her magic.   Antonio straddles two worlds, the strong faith of his mother's catholicism and the indigenous ways of his ancestors in which Ultima practices.  Antonio must learn to forge a path that is respectful of each yet he feels he needs to reconcile the teachings of the church with his cultural practices.


"From my mother I had learned that man is of the earth, that his clay feet are part of the ground that nourishes him, and that this is the inextricable mixture that gives man his measure of safety and security. Because man plants in the earth he believes in the miracle of birth, and he provides a home for his family, and he builds a church to preserve his faith and the soul that is bound to his flesh, his clay. But from my father and Ultima I had learned that the greater immortality is in the freedom of man, and that freedom is best nourished by the noble experience of land and air and pure, white sky."

I listened to the audiobook of Bless Me, Ultima and loved it!!  The narrator is easy to listen to and the story is full of action.  Bless Me, Ultima is the kind of story I always want to listen to, the type where my mind couldn't wander away from it even if it wanted to.  There are so many intriguing elements in this story.  There is magical realism, cultural myths, history of the land, tradition and superstition and layers of powerful imagery.  I loved listening to Antonio's dream sequences and knew he was learning about himself and the people he loved.  Truly this book is amazing.

Antonio is searching for his truth and faces some horrific realities.  He witnesses murder and hatred, yet he holds on to his faith and respect for the people and land.  Antonio is wise beyond his years, an old soul.  Bless Me, Ultima is truly a powerful and important book and full of cultural layers.  

Bless Me, Ultima is the first book in a trilogy.  Heart of Aztlan is the second book and Tortuga is the third.  Bless Me, Ultima was recently made into a movie.  Rudolfo Anaya is known as one of the best Chicano authors and Bless Me, Ultima is highly respected and taught in schools around the nation.  It was awarded the book prize, Premio Quinto Sol.  Bless Me, Ultima is also on the list of most commonly challenged books in the United States.  So in honor of Banned Books Week and celebrating your freedom to read, I encourage you to read this powerful book.

The Raven Boys by Maggie Steifvator

The Raven Boys by Maggie Steiefvator
Audio Book Review

I haven't listened to many audio books but I think that is going to start changing and let me tell you why. Last year I listened to two audio books on a 2000 mile road trip but this year I learned something that I want to share with Book Snob readers that has helped me listen to more audio books.  While you are cooking or cleaning, plug in your audio book.  Listen while you work.  I have started listening on the way home from work as well and I will tell you what I have found out.  I don't mind cleaning or sitting in traffic as much because I want to keep listening.  So audio books have officially helped decrease my stress and made my house cleaner.  YAY!!

Disclosure:  I received this audio book for free from Audio Books Sync

Blue is the daughter of a clairvoyant, in fact she belongs to a whole family of psychics, but Blue does not have the second sight.  She has heard, for as long as she can remember, that if she kisses her true love she will kill him.  Blue is reluctant to fall in love but the world is colluding against her when she meets the four raven boys.  The first time she meets Gansey is on the Ghost Road.  He is already dead and Blue is intrigued by him and wonders why and how he ended up walking the ley line.  When she meets him and his friends later, she falls for his friend Adam.

There are four Raven Boys who go to the local prep school in town.  Gansey is the wealthy, good-looking one who is searching for a dead Welsh king who is supposed to be on the Ley Line.  Adam is his friend who goes to prep school on a scholarship, Ronan is the angsty one, who is full of anger and actually has pet raven and then there is Noah.  Noah is shy, and actually has a secret that is sure to shock you.

Listening to The Raven Boys, the story starts out a bit slow and confusing, basically because it has a lot of characters to remember and the story is complex.   Once you are able to sort through all the nuances and layers and can remember the characters, the story picks up and is really good.  I loved the psychic and magical elements of the story and enjoyed learning about Tarot card readings and the Ley Line.  The Raven Boys combines history, legend, fantasy and friendship in the first book of a intended trilogy.  The second book is The Dream Thieves is set to be released on September 17th and I have plans to listen to it.

Have you listened to any audio books lately?

The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein

The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein
Audio book review
Read by Christopher Evan Welch

"Your car goes where your eyes go." pg. 94  Advice from Enzo, a dog who narrates The Art of Racing in the Rain.   Enzo loves his human family and is especially loyal to his owner Denny who is a race car driver.  Occasionally Enzo, while narrating the history and stories of his life and his people family,  shares witticisms or advice on the importance things in life.  He uses race car driving as a metaphor for speeding or racing through the days and years of your life cycle.  Put your seat belt on and bark once to slow down or bark twice to go faster.

"How quickly a year passes, like a mouthful of food snatched from the maw of eternity." pg. 240  The Art of Racing in the Rain is a heartfelt story that will capture your heart and make you laugh out loud because of the thoughts of a dog.  If you are a dog owner you will recognize particular traits that Enzo exhibits that relate to your beloved pet and best friend.  Enzo's family goes through some very rough times, a death, a custody battle and the story may bring tears to your eyes but through it all they had a dog who loved and supported them unconditionally.  A dog is a friend when you need one, a shoulder to cry on, a pal to play ball with and is so happy when you come home.

"That which you manifest is before you." pg. 41  Enzo saw a TV show (he likes to watch TV when his people are gone) and believes that when a dog dies he will return in the next life as a human.  Enzo can't wait to be human. 

We listened to this audio book on our 500 mile long drive from Minot, ND to St. Paul, MN.  The Art of Racing in the Rain is one of the reasons we kept driving and made it home ahead of schedule because we just couldn't stop listening to Enzo and his story. There are some swear words and a little inappropriateness for younger kids but my 11 and 14 year old kids absolutely adored this book.  When it was finished and we were only 20 miles from home my daughter said, "This book is a 5 star read for me."  We were all crying and laughing and it was a wonderful moment that I will cherish forever and it's all because we love dogs and books.

Have you ever wondered what your dog is thinking?  Woof!